Sports What Ifs

[Astros]

I just watched a countdown show on NFL Network on DVR and figured I would see what some of your biggest sports what ifs are. If one thing goes different how does everything else shake down? I'm going to do one for my four favorite sports in no particular order.

1. What if Gordon Hayward's shot against Duke goes in?

I think Brad Stevens never leaves for the NBA. Coach K has one less title which is a great thing for everyone. Maybe Butler repeats as champs the next year, they played their worst game of the season against UConn in the title game. I think Butler may become what Villanova has turned into, at the very least you'd have heavyweight battles between Nova and Butler, Stevens and Jay Wright every March and Butler may become the new Duke, the small private school with the great coach, except hopefully without the smugness and arrogance in victory and being a little bitch in defeat and getting on opposing players for celebrating

2. What if Mo Lewis lets Drew Bledsoe run out of bounds?

The Pats still win the division in 2001, but there's no Tuck Rule, the Rams get another Super Bowl. Kurt Warner stays in STL longer, maybe the Rams don't move. Brady never sees the field, Bledsoe is winning enough and has been the franchise QB long enough that a 6th rounder isn't challenging him for his job coming off a division title, even if they miss the 2002 playoffs like they did with Brady. Then you have a guy at the end of his rookie contract that's been a career backup and never seen the field. Does he bounce around the league holding a clipboard? Does some team gamble on him based on good preseasons? How many Super Bowls do the Colts win between 2003 and 2010? We live in the darkest timeline

3. What is AAU never happens

Colleges used to find kids just fine when they were good high school players. Teams still hate each other, players aren't friends off the court and the whole super team/big market bullshit doesn't infest the NBA.

4. What if Barry Bonds is traded to the Braves?

The Braves had a deal in place for Bonds in the 91 offseason and Pitt backed out last minute. Do the Braves have the money to sign Maddux after 92? What becomes of the Giants, do they move to Tampa? Does Bonds take PEDS? Do the Braves become the team of the 90s in the NL and win 14 straight division titles?

[Twins]

What if the Reds had drafted Jeter at #5 in 1992 instead of Chad Mottola?

It has long been my opinion that Jeter is the biggest opportunist in sports history. If he's not on the Yankees, he's a pretty good player who doesn't become DEREK JETER. I think his career looks a lot more like Stephen Drew than RE2PECT. Place him in Cincy, KC, Minnesota, whatever, he doesn't get the postseason opportunities, he'd never force A-Rod to 3B, and he's not a living legend. He's an above average SS who eventually moves to 2B with a handful of all-star appearances, and that's about it.

[Yankees]

Derek Jeter is a career .310 hitter with 3,465 career hits. He has 8 top 10 MVP finishes alongside an 11 and a 13. He also has 72.4 career WAR.

He may not be RE2PECT if he's in Cincy, but he's a better baseball player than Stephen Drew.

[Astros]

What if the Reds had drafted Jeter at #5 in 1992 instead of Chad Mottola?

It has long been my opinion that Jeter is the biggest opportunist in sports history. If he's not on the Yankees, he's a pretty good player who doesn't become DEREK JETER. I think his career looks a lot more like Stephen Drew than RE2PECT. Place him in Cincy, KC, Minnesota, whatever, he doesn't get the postseason opportunities, he'd never force A-Rod to 3B, and he's not a living legend. He's an above average SS who eventually moves to 2B with a handful of all-star appearances, and that's about it.

I think a better comparison would be Chuck Knoblauch. Offensively they were very similar, with Jeter having more power, but as far as average and OBP through age 30 they're very similar. If you're putting Jeter in a situation where he maybe makes the playoffs once or twice, as opposed to being there every year and being the handsome young guy on a team that doesn't really have a superstar, I think his public perception is far different. If he's not a Yankee he's remembered like Paul Molitor or Robin Yount

[Yankees]

Knoblauch couldn't stay consistent. That's almost exactly what Jeter was.

I'd say Yount and Molitor are fair...but a huge part of the Yankees being that successful WAS Jeter. You can't divorce those two things.

[Athletics]

Cardinals wrote:

> The Braves had a deal in place for Bonds in the 91 offseason and Pitt
> backed out last minute. Do the Braves have the money to sign Maddux after
> 92? What becomes of the Giants, do they move to Tampa? Does Bonds take
> PEDS? Do the Braves become the team of the 90s in the NL and win 14
> straight division titles?

Isn't Bonds taking PEDs a bit of a stretch given it happened 10 years later? And didn't the Bonds trade happen after the new ownership group was in place and they weren't going to move the team?

[Astros]

Cardinals wrote:

> The Braves had a deal in place for Bonds in the 91 offseason and Pitt
> backed out last minute. Do the Braves have the money to sign Maddux after
> 92? What becomes of the Giants, do they move to Tampa? Does Bonds take
> PEDS? Do the Braves become the team of the 90s in the NL and win 14
> straight division titles?

Isn't Bonds taking PEDs a bit of a stretch given it happened 10 years later? And didn't the Bonds trade happen after the new ownership group was in place and they weren't going to move the team?

No Bonds would've been in Atlanta in 92 and I'm assuming Ted Turner extends him, so he never signs in SF. They were talks about them moving prior to the Bonds signing.